The brakes may still on the NHL season, but the giving spirit of NHL organizations like the Boston Bruins is still abundantly strong.

Bruins president Cam Neely and coach Claude Julien were among a group of Bruins staffers that spent Monday shopping for thousands of dollars worth of toys and gifts to give to children spending the holidays in area hospitals, CSNNE.com reported.

The toy-buying spree is not a one-off event for the lockout. It’s something that the Bruins have done since 1990, when Ray Bourque orchestrated the first one. Other players, including P.J. Axelsson and Zdeno Chara, have also helped out. With the lockout ongoing, coaches and team staffers pitched in to make sure the tradition continued this year.

“Everybody isn’t happy with the (lockout) situation that we’re involved in. But that doesn’t mean we can’t help others out around the holidays. It’s fantastic to be involved with this,” Neely told CSNNE.com. “To have children that aren’t able to be home for Christmas and you can shed a little light on them. I think it’s important for the organization to do that whether it’s the front office and coaches, or it’s the players.

“Regardless of how other athletes feel, we’re in a position to give back and we’re obligated to do just that. We’re fortunate to be able to do what we do for a living. For us to get out and get involved in the community, in various ways, is something we should be doing."

And maybe with that continued community involvement, fans may get over the league’s lockout a little quicker.

”We’ve always maintained a strong relationship with the community in a number of ways and we’re always going to continue to do that,” Neely said. “(The lockout) doesn’t mean that we can’t keep getting involved as an organization like we always have.”